"Till There Was You" is a song written by Meredith Willson. It became famous through his 1957 stage play The Music Man and its 1962 movie version. The Beatles later recorded a version of the song, which helped it gain even more popularity.

The song was Anita Bryant's first Top 40 hit in 1959. It was recorded by the Beatles in 1963, after Bryant's version.

Origins

First recorded as "Till I Met You" by Eileen Wilson on October 25, 1950, this earlier version of the song was also performed by Fran Warren for The Big Show on January 14, 1951.

The revised version, "Till There Was You," was first recorded and released by Nelson Riddle, with his orchestra and 17-year-old singer Sue Raney. Copies for promotion of the 7-inch single (Capitol P3847) were released on November 26, 1957. This was before the original Broadway production opened on December 19 and a month before the original cast album was released.

In the second act of The Music Man, the song is performed by librarian Marian Paroo. Barbara Cook recorded it for the original Broadway cast album, and Shirley Jones recorded it for the 1962 movie version.

Anita Bryant version

In 1959, American singer Anita Bryant recorded the song "Till There Was You" and released it as a single. Her version reached number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 14 on the Cashbox Top 100.

The Beatles version

The song "Till There Was You" was recorded by the Beatles in 1963 and included on their second album, With the Beatles (1963) in the United Kingdom and Meet the Beatles! (1964) in the United States. This was the only song from a Broadway show that the Beatles released.

Paul McCartney sang the song, and George Harrison and John Lennon played acoustic and classical guitars in a Spanish style. Ringo Starr played the bongo beat. George Martin produced the song, and George Harrison played the guitar solo. The wife of Meredith Willson, the composer of The Music Man, said her husband’s estate earned more money from the Beatles’ version of the song than from the original Broadway play.

Paul McCartney first heard Peggy Lee’s 1961 version of the song through his cousin, Bett Robbins, who sometimes cared for him and his brother. McCartney later learned the song was from The Music Man. The Beatles included the song in their practice set in 1962 and performed it at the Star Club in Hamburg. It showed their ability to perform different types of music, from soft ballads to energetic rock and roll, such as when they followed it with "Twist and Shout" during a performance on November 4, 1963, at the Royal Variety Performance.

The Beatles had previously performed the song during an unsuccessful audition for Decca Records in London on January 1, 1962. They also sang it as the second song during their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. During that performance, each member was introduced by their first name with a subtitle, ending with John Lennon, whose subtitle read, "Sorry girls, he's married."

Live versions of the song were released on Live at the BBC (1994) and Anthology 1 (1995). A live performance by McCartney appears on his DVD The Space Within US (2006). In 2016, the BBC announced that a rare Beatles record containing "Hello Little Girl" and "Till There Was You" would be auctioned. This private pressing was valued at over £10,000 and described by Mark Lewisohn, a leading Beatles expert, as one of the rarest and most collectible Beatles records. It sold for £77,500.

• Paul McCartney – lead vocal, bass guitar
• John Lennon – nylon-string guitar
• George Harrison – nylon-string guitar
• Ringo Starr – bongos

Other versions

• Marlene Dietrich made a live recording of the song that was not released publicly. This recording was likely made in Chicago during her 1961 U.S. tour (Burt Bachrach, arranger and conductor).
• Jazz singer Sue Raney recorded the song with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra on October 29, 1957, for her first album, When Your Lover Has Gone. This recording was made about six weeks before The Music Man opened.
• Jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins included the song on his 1958 album Freedom Suite. A different version of the song was included on the 1999 CD re-release.
• Peggy Lee recorded the song for her 1960 album Latin ala Lee!.
• Guitarist Chet Atkins recorded the song as a single for his 1960 album Teensville.
• In March 1961, Peggy Lee had a minor hit with the song in the UK.
• Etta Jones recorded the song for her 1961 album Something Nice.
• Gene McDaniels included the song on his 1961 album 100 lbs of Clay.
• Al Hirt recorded the song for his 1962 album Horn A-Plenty.
• Nana Mouskouri recorded a slow, romantic version of the song. This version was originally the closing track on her 1962 album Nana Mouskouri in New York (The Girl from Greece Sings), produced by Quincy Jones.
• In 1962, an instrumental version of Meredith Willson’s song by Valjean became popular.
• In 1963, Sergio Franchi recorded the song for his RCA Victor Red Seal album Broadway… I Love You.
• In 1966, Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston recorded the song for the album Take Two.
• In 1974, Ray Charles included the song on his Crossover Records album Come Live With Me.
• In 1984, Brazilian singer Beto Guedes released a Portuguese version of the song called Quando te vi (When I saw you), written by Ronaldo Bastos.
• In 1997, Los Hooligans recorded and released the song on their Moon Ska Records album Traditions.
• In 1998, Ellen Albertini Dow sang the song in the movie The Wedding Singer, though this version is not on the official soundtrack.
• In 2000, Peter MacNicol, Lisa Nicole Carson, and Jane Krakowski performed the song on the TV show Ally McBeal’s season 3 episode “Turning Thirty.”
• In 2003, Rod Stewart recorded the song for his album As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook, Volume II.
• Piolo Pascual recorded the song for the 2003 film of the same name.
• The Smithereens included the song on their 2007 album Meet The Smithereens!, which features only cover versions of songs from the Meet the Beatles! album.
• In 2009, Katherine Jenkins recorded the song for her album Believe.